The boy named Matthew Thompson
by MoonRaven95
Summary: Reid wakes up in the middle of the night, remembering a boy behind ten years. Why has he forgotten the boy completely? Does the boy even exist? On the next morning the team gets a case to Idaho, to the same state the boy said he was from. Is it just a coincidence? Is Reid ready to find the boy who isn't who he seems to be? Violence on the later chapters. OC warning!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone. This is my first CM fic that wanted to get out of my head. I really hope I get this finished before summer holiday but knowing me I can't be too sure.**

******The story will take place quite in the beginning of the series.** Reid is 25 in this one, Gideon and Elle have left, and Prentiss and Rossi are on the team. That's because the majority of the episodes I've seen are like that. I do not own any of the BAU team but everyone else in this fic I do.

**The fic will be pretty much Reid-centric but I also put some thoughts from others too. I hope you'll like this one and plz review me if you want this to continue and especially if you like this. :) **

* * *

_Las Vegas, Nevada  
The 12__th__ of July 1994, Tuesday_

_Zap!_

_A polaroid camera took a photo about a boy sitting in a shadow of an oak tree and reading a book. The boy was about thirteen or fourteen years old and had chestnut brown hair and a pair of eye to match it. In front of those eyes he wore eye glasses. His attention was absolutely captured by the book he was reading even though he was constantly turning the pages of it. He didn't even notice another boy across the street, holding the camera. That boy was much younger, something between eight and ten. He looked at the photo he had just taken and allowed himself to smile slightly. Now he needed to get away from there, and quickly. He stuffed the camera and the photo into his dark grey backpack and hopped off the bench he had been sitting on._

_Only to stumble and fall on the ground. The older boy looked up from his book._

* * *

_Spencer was half-way through the book he had been reading. He truly loved classics and that was already the third book of the day. Nothing had disturbed his peace as it was a hot summer day and people preferred spending time indoors or at swimming pools. He didn't care of the heat though. In the shadow it wasn't insufferable._

_Thump!_

_Spender looked up from his book. There was a boy lying flat on his stomach on the pavement, just fallen down. Spencer closer his book and placed it on the grass. He walked to the other boy. "Hey, are you alright?"_

_The younger boy snapped his head up and his cheeks got a tint of pink. Maybe it was the heat or then it was from embarrassment, Spencer didn't know but nevertheless offered his hand to help the boy up._

"_I-I'm fine." The other boy stuttered, surprised about something. Spencer couldn't figure out what it was even though he had read a lot of books about human behavior and psychology._

"_You aren't from here, are you? I don't remember seeing you before." He asked as he helped the boy up. The younger one's face fell slightly and he avoided eye contact._

"_N-No… I don't live here. I'm from Idaho… My parents are on a business trip and decided to take me with them…" He told quietly as he stared his toes. Spencer noted he told only the state he lived in, not the name of his home town. But he decided not to draw attention to it._

"_Okay. Why are you alone then? And here? Usually people stay in the city center. I'm sure you parents must be worried." While Spencer didn't have exactly experience of worried parents he knew it was very usual for parents to worry about their children._

"_They are on a meeting and won't be back until night. And brother is playing with game automats at hotel. I'm merely looking around."_

"_What's your name then?"_

"_Ah… um… Matthew… I'm Matthew Thompson." A lie. Spencer could see it from the boy's eyes._

"_Well, nice to meet you Matthew. My name is Spencer Reid." Matthew nodded, like he had known it. They shook hands. "Say Matthew… Do you like chess?"_

_Matthew became suddenly very uncomfortable about that question. Much more uncomfortable than with any of the other questions. It was written all over his face. But Spencer decided to try anyways._

"_What's wrong?"_

"_I do know the rules but I don't play."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Mum is a poor player. Brother doesn't like chess and dad… he is too busy." Another lie._

"_Well, would you like to play with me then?" Spencer suggested carefully. Matthew's face brightened immediately._

* * *

"_I lost!" Matthew laughed. Spencer smiled at the younger boy who had slowly come out of his shell during the game. He was pretty good player and had been able to give a proper opposition to Spencer. He was quite odd kid. He really wanted to know more about Spencer but was reluctant to tell anything about himself. It was like he had been afraid of something. But there were little bits of truth Spencer had managed to pick up from Matthew's speech._

_The boy was nine years old, had a mother, a father and an older brother. He also had possibly another sibling too who wasn't living with them. Either deceased or then given away for adoption. Some kind of illness so they had to be in a hospital was also a plausible opinion. 'Matthew' was a fake name as was the name he called his brother 'Timothy'. The boy was really smart and bright for his age. Probably as smart as Spencer but he was doing his best not to show it. From his behavior the older boy could see Matthew didn't have much friends if any; he was happy to notice someone tolerated him around and was rather clingy towards Spencer. And the way Matthew spoke about his father… he clearly wasn't in good terms with him. It was also weird that he didn't even tell which hotel they were staying in…_

* * *

Washington D.C.  
The 26th of May 2005, Thursday

Spencer Reid woke up with a start. It was already well past midnight and only light to the room came from neon advertisements outside of the window, dimmed by curtains. He touched his forehead with a shaky hand and noticed it was covered in sweat. Why was he shaking so badly?

"Matthew Thompson…" The young man frowned and sat up slowly. He hadn't met that boy after he had left Vegas. How many years it was already? Ten? No, almost eleven. He had forgotten the boy completely. Why was he seeing a dream about him so suddenly? And the most confusing thing was… Reid could not bring himself to remember what the boy had looked like. It should be impossible. Especially with his memory. With his eidetic memory that could remember everything he had read and helped him connect pieces of information faster than an average human could. Yet, he couldn't remember anything about the boy. Had Matthew Thompson been just a creation of his subconscious?

Reid rose up and glanced at his alarm clock. 03:47A.M. already – or only, depending on the point of view. He could as well get ready for the day and check if he could find anything from his belongings to prove Matthew Thompson's existence.

* * *

Two hours and three cups of coffee later Reid was sitting on the floor of his living room, in the middle of old photos and a few diaries. There weren't much of them and only one diary mentioned Matthew with a few sentences written by Diana Reid: _"Spencer got a new friend today. His name is Matthew. He is very sweet and bright boy. A bit like Spencer actually."_ That was all. Reid sighed. This didn't prove much. He couldn't be sure if it was written when his mother was in lucid or not. Maybe he could ask Garcia to help him… He cleaned up and took his messenger bag. Hopefully there would be some paperwork for him to do at Quantico, even though it was quite unlikely for him to leave anything for next day.

* * *

Reid was sitting at his desk and reading the report of the last case the BAU had had. At the moment he didn't have anything else to do as no one else had come yet.

"Reid, how come you are here already?" Aaron Hotchner, the leader of BAU, asked as he stepped into the bullpen. It was really rare that anyone was there before him.

"I woke up a bit earlier and decided to come." Reid shrugged. Hotch furrowed hi brows but didn't reply. As a profiler he could easily see that something was bothering the young doctor.

After about an hour later the other members of BAU started to come. As soon as Garcia came, Reid went after her to her office filled with several computers.

"What now, mr. Genius? We don't even have a case yet and you already come here to seek my help. Or do you just enjoy my company so much you have to follow me from the beginning of the day to the end of it?" The blond computer nerd teased the man. Reid didn't pay attention to it. He was already used to Penelope Garcia's bubbly and flirty way to talk to others.

"I need a favor… Or I don't need is it favor as I'm not even sure is that person real or not but I'd like to find him if –…" Reid's rambling was cut short as his colleague Derek Morgan came to the room.

"Hey, Pretty boy and Baby girl. We have a case. JJ and Hotch are already waiting for us in the conference room."

"Ah, we're coming." Reid nodded before turning back to talk to Garcia. "I'll explain later."

"Okay, but don't think you are off the hook. You managed to catch my attention with that brief description and you do know how I like challenges." She smirked. "You go ahead. I'm coming soon."

"Yeah, thanks already in advance." Reid hurried after Morgan.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing special. Forget it."

"Reid? You are not alright."

"I'm fine enough."

* * *

"There have been serial robberies in Idaho, Atlanta. Every single time the group attacks to a seemingly random place, shoot someone, take the money from the cash register and while escaping take a hostage. The hostage is found two days later, tortured and sometimes even dead. About a day after the hostage is found, the group strikes again. There has been eight attacks this far and no one dares to go anywhere since no one knows where the UnSubs are going to strike next." Jennifer Jareau aka JJ told to the team.

"Eight attacks and they ask for help now?" Emily Prentiss was surprised. She was rather new member in the BAU and wasn't really used to the way some police officers treated them.

"I talked with one of the detectives in response of the case. He apologized for the delay but didn't want to say what had caused it."

"Is there any connection with the hostages or the victims or the places?" The senior profiler, David Rossi asked as he flipped through the file they all had been given.

"According the detective they haven't found anything. The shot person was usually working on the place and all the places are some type of shops. Only once the attack happened on the biggest library of the city."

"Right, take you bags. The plane leaves in thirty." Hotch announced. They were about to exit the room when JJ called them back.

"The detective asked us if we have anyone with knowledge on the computers. They themselves couldn't find anything but he added that none of them have a proper education on 'handling anything more complex than a search machine'."

"I see. Garcia, make sure you are ready in thirty minutes." Hotch told the technical analysist.

"Understood, Bossman." Garcia saluted and hurried to take everything she needed to take with her.

* * *

Rossi frowned as he studied the case. They seemed to be blitzattacks but the profiler did find something weird on one of the statements of the victims. _'They asked who was ––, and took him/her.'_ It was repeated in every single attack at least once. It seemed the hostages weren't so random anymore and thus made the places less too. Otherwise the UnSubs seemed to be untraceable. Every time they used a different car and even if the car was same, the license plates were covered. They also seemed to know the area very well because after a few minutes they weren't found anymore. No wonder the police were stuck.

The profiler glanced at his colleagues and could see similar thoughts going on in their minds. Except Reid and Garcia which was weird because usually the young man was going through the file and making comments on the victims. But now the plane was unusually silent. Only Reid and Garcia were having a quiet conversation, seated apart from everyone else. It obviously wasn't anything case related. It was a personal matter.

* * *

"Alright, my junior G-man. What's your problem?"

"I… I met one boy about ten years ago. I didn't remember him until today. I know the name he gave me but it's not his real one and…" Reid paused for a second.

"And what?" Garcia smiled gently.

"I don't remember at all what he looked like. I- I'm not even sure did he exist at the first place." The doctor scratched his head embarrassedly and looked away.

"It's alright, pretty boy. I'm here to help you to find out more about your friend. Tell me everything you know and think that might be useful. So the name doesn't help at all?"

"No, I know it wasn't his but I'm sure it wasn't completely random either. But we can't rely on it if we don't know how he chose it."

"So we ignore it for now. Where does he live?"

"Somewhere in Idaho."

"What a coincidence."

"You do know I don't believe in coincidences… But in this case it's possible yeah."

"Family?"

"Mother, father and an older brother. Most likely someone else too but he avoided the subject."

"What would be his age?"

"He was about nine at the time so now he's supposed to be something between nineteen and twenty-one, depending when his birthday is."

"Do you remember anything else?"

Reid frowned and tried to remember that one day. Nothing came up except…

"He was really afraid of his father. I suppose he was being abused." He replied. It was hard to make a profile about the boy he wasn't even sure to exist. The boy who had tried to hide everything about himself.

"Well, let me do my magic. This might take a while, so be patient. And most likely I'll get too many hits as we have a whole state to go through."

"Thanks anyways." Reid smiled to the woman and left his seat. He sat this time opposite Morgan who watched him curiously.

"What's up Reid?"

"Nothing." The ex-police officer raised his eyebrows.

"C'mon, you can tell me."

"It's nothing. Really. If something comes up I'll tell you." Reid waved his hand dismissively and leaned back on the chair. Maybe he could catch a bit of sleep. After all he hadn't slept well at all thanks to that dream/memory. In no time he had drifted to a light sleep, his mind buzzing disorganized information.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, my dearest readers. Tell me what you thought about it and do you want some more. Most likely I'll post the second chapter in two days but nothing is too sure. :)**

**See ya 'til the next time XD**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wheehee! I was faster than I thought I'd be! Here is the next chapter. I hope you'll like it. And thank you for everyone who has faved/reviewed etc. this fic. I'm happy now. Plz review this chapter too. :)**

**I also put a cover to this. The picture is made by me but I used my DeviantArt username on it. In the picture you can see Terry and Audrey. Who? You'll find out. ;)**

* * *

_Las Vegas, Nevada  
The 13__th__ of July 1994, Wednesday_

_Spencer exited his home and found Matthew sitting on the grass of the front yard, drawing something. The younger boy was bending over his small sketchpad and his hand moved fast on the paper. It was almost like he wanted to finish it before anyone could see what he was doing. He was shielding himself and his drawing from the outsiders._

_Silently, so he wouldn't disturb the boy, Spencer walked closer and sat next to Matthew. Now he was able to take a look on the picture on the page. It was from the previous day the two of them playing a game of chess. The picture was really good, almost like a photo. Drawn with extreme accuracy that even majority of adults weren't able to do, not to mention nine-year-old kids._

"_You are pretty good." Matthew jumped at the sudden voice and backed up a few feet. His eyes were wide and he was seemingly terrified who had been speaking to him. Spencer was puzzled. What had happened to the boy that made him act like that?_

"_Hey, are you alright? I didn't mean to scare you."_

"_I… I'm sorry." Matthew bowed his head in shame._

"_There is no need to be. I bet I would've also gotten quite a fright if someone had so suddenly sneaked up at me. Come here." Spencer tapped the grass on the spot Matthew had sat. Slowly the younger boy came closer and sat next to Spencer._

"_I'm sorry…" He said again._

"_I'm the one who should apologize."_

"_But I… Last time someone did that to me… They ripped all my drawings…" Matthew still refused to look Spencer. He hugged his knees tightly against his chest and pressed his forehead against them. "I didn't want these get ripped too…"_

_Spencer didn't say anything. He wrapped his right arm around the boy's shoulders and held him close. Matthew stiffened at first at the touch but relaxed then. He let go of his knees and cried silently on Spencer's shoulder. To the boy Spencer was one of the few he could truly trust._

* * *

"_Where have you learned to draw this well?" Spencer indicated the sketchpad Matthew had picked up. Now he was drawing another picture. This time it was a little girl dressed up as Snow White._

"_I just draw things I see again and again. Every time I get better and better. I trust my eyes and my memory when I draw something. They're... things I rely on when I observe people. I watch how they act around me and remember it for the next time I see them. So I know whether they want to hurt me or just talk to me. And that's how I remember so accurately things and am able to draw this well. It's part of my self-defense." Matthew looked up from the drawing and smiled sadly to the older boy. "There aren't many people I can trust. You and P-Phoebe are one of the few."_

"_Who's Phoebe?" That one was also a fake name. "That girl?" Spencer pointed the girl in the drawing._

"_Yeah, that's Phoebe…" They fell into a silence. There wasn't anything to say anymore. Spencer watched Matthew bending over the picture again and starting to work with the details of Phoebe's hair. The boy's own hair fell over his face and covered the picture even more. Spencer noticed now a pencil case on the grass for the first time. It was full of stuff: some erasers, compasses, a ruler, two sharpeners and a lot of different kind of pencils. A typical pencil case for an art student but not for a young boy. There was something missing and it took a while for Spencer to figure out what it was._

"_Where are the coloring pens?" Matthew looked up in confusion._

"_What?"_

"_The colors. Don't you use colors?" Spencer repeated._

"_Oh… not really… I haven't used any colors since I was six. My teachers find it weird but… I just can't use them anymore." There was a far-away look in the boy's eyes. "I try. When I'm with Phoebe but to me the world has become very black and white and it shows up in these pictures."_

_Spencer frowned. What had happened to the boy? What had made him lose the colors of the world and become so scared about people around him? And who was this Phoebe?_

* * *

Atlanta, Idaho

"Hey, Spence, wake up. We're here." JJ was shaking gently Reid's shoulder. The plane had just landed and he hadn't been the only one to sleep the rest of the flight. After all it had lasted several hours. Reid opened his eyes slowly and looked around himself in confusion. What had happ-? Right, he was in the plane with his colleagues. He had been dreaming.

"I'm awake." Reid smiled to the blond agent and got up from his seat. Garcia was gathering her things and Hotch was already at the door waiting for them all to get ready. Prentiss stretched on her seat and got up too. She exchanged a couple of words with Rossi before following their leader out, Morgan on the tow. JJ went next and then came Reid and Garcia.

"Did you find anything?" The doctor asked quietly.

"Too much matches. We have to find something to narrow the search down." The tech whispered back. Reid nodded and turned then to look at Hotch who was greeted by a female officer.

"My name is Martha Nolan. Oliver asked me to come and pick you up. The way to the police station is quite tricky." She introduced herself and shook hands with Hotch briefly. The profiler's face didn't show anything but he couldn't help thinking who an earth was this 'Oliver'. Nevertheless, the agents filed up to two black SUV-cars and started to drive towards the police station.

* * *

"That's enough! I'll not tolerate this anymore!" An angry voice was heard behind a pair of glass doors which led to the bullpen of the homicide division. Officer Nolan sighed in a way that told to the agents that the argument had started a bit before she had left to pick them up from the airport. Another voice answered heatedly.

"You won't even listen to me and my views!" That voice said. It was slightly younger than the other one but the both were male voices.

"Yes, I won't because it's not–…"

"It's not what? Made by a police officer? Based on evidence? Actually it is, you just don't see beyond the obvious! Everything is in front of your eyes but you refuse to take a closer look and see the connections."

"Terry, step down already and leave this to us. The BAU is already on their way and will be here at any moment to help us with this case…"

"By 'us' you practically mean yourself and your minions. And the BAU? Oh, great… just great. You actually trust some outsiders without any knowledge of this area or its inhabitants more than your own brother?"

"In this case… yes!"

"Fine, have it your way then! But for your information I already know where these robbers will strike next."

"What? Te-Terence Reed, get back here!"

There was no answer. Instead the doors swung open and a young man stormed out. He was probably only a high school student from the way he was dressed up. A light blue buttoned-up shirt with a dark-green vest (buttons open) and dark-grey jeans. He had a shoulder bag so full of books it barely was closed and had tied his shoulder length umbra-colored hair on a ponytail behind his neck. In his feet he had a pair of black Converses. All in all he wouldn't stand out on high school corridors.

The boy stopped dead at the sight of the agents. His dark brown eyes scanned the group for a few seconds, absorbing all possible information he could get by that one glance, before he continued past them like he hadn't even stopped. Officer Nolan sighed again.

"Get in before Oliver bursts out. Although I doubt he'll do it but as Terry is his brother anything is possible and… Just get in."

* * *

The agents stepped in. The bullpen was mostly empty but one man was still there. He was standing at one of the desks, leaning heavily against it his head bowed down. His short-cut hair was dark brown but lighter than the younger man's who they'd just 'met'. He lifted his head up, spared a glance on the BAU before addressing to the female officer: "Martha, don't tell me…"

"Only the last few parts of the argument." The woman smiled and walked to her own desk. "I wish you luck this case. It's making us all quite frustrated." She told the agents.

"_Thank you_, Martha." The man gave her a look that silenced her. He walked to the agents and extended his hand to Hotch. "Detective Oliver Reed, I'm in response of this case."

"Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner." Hotch introduced himself and turned then halfway towards his team. "SSAs Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss and Doctor Reid…" The detective raised his left eye brow at this. "… our media liaison Jareau and technical analysis Garcia."

"Good that you came. We are indeed rather stuck at the moment. And Terry…" Oliver cut himself short. "Never mind about that. I have everything organized for you already." He led the feds to a spacy room which seemed to be used on conferences or something similar. There were some whiteboards ready and a large map on the wall with red pins pointing the crime scenes. On the table were several files, one for each place.

"If you happen to need anything just ask and… For Heaven's sake!" Oliver strode to the wall area next to the map. It was covered black and white photos. "I told him to take these off."

"You told who?" Rossi asked.

"Terry, my brother. I told him to use the official photos taken by Officer Anderson but no… Mr. Know-It-All doesn't listen to me…" The Detective was replacing the photos with colored ones from a file on the table. After doing it, he chucked the black and white ones a top of a file placed on a side table behind the white boards. "I'll leave you now. Arguing with Terry gives me just a head-ache. Does anyone of you want some coffee?"

"No thanks, we'll start working now." Hotch said curtly. Oliver nodded and was about to leave but turned around and faced Reid.

"Before I go… doctor, how's your name spelled?"

Reid blinked a couple of times for the sudden question before answering: "R-E-I-D. Why you ask?"

"Just curious. We are not related then in any way. R-E-E-D." Oliver smiled and left.

* * *

The team started working. They had now more accurate information about the hostages and the victims in their files but it wasn't helping much. They were men, women, old, young, black, white, Latino, Asian… There was nothing significant to connect them.

"Garcia, go through the surveillance cameras. Maybe we can get the measures of the UnSubs to narrow down the suspects." Hotch said after a while of a fruitless search.

"The suspects who we don't even have." Morgan mumbled quietly. Prentiss smacked his arm.

"Yes, Bossman. The Empress of the Highways of Wisdom is on her way." Garcia replied behind her beloved computers and her fingers started to fly on the keyboard.

Reid looked around the room. Something was off. He had gotten the feeling when he had stepped on the room for the first time but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. He looked at the photos. "Everything is in front of your eyes but you refuse to take a closer look and see the connections…"

"And now you are quoting Terry." A voice said from the doorway. Oliver was back, leaning against the doorframe and sipping coffee.

"How long has your brother helped you with this case?" Reid asked without removing his gaze from the photos.

"Since the beginning. Because of him I postponed calling you here. I thought he could figure something out like he had done before."

"Pretty risky to trust someone… without a uniform to help." Prentiss tried to phrase her message without possibly hurting the Detective's feeling towards his brother.

"Yeah, but Terry is really smart. Two months ago he helped us to solve a murder case. He found a tiny piece of evidence that led to the arrest." Oliver moved a teaspoon absent-mindedly in the cup, weighing what he should say. "But now I can't allow him continue with this."

"And why is that? If you trusted him enough to let him start with this case and even postponed calling us here, why you chuck him out now?" Morgan frowned.

"For his own health. When he is working on a case, he refuses to take his meds. Short amounts of time are fine but this has been going on for weeks now. The longer he goes on, the worse he'll be. I don't even know what exactly is the thing that was diagnosed on him."

"I see…" Reid said quietly as his eyes caught the sight of the black and white photos and the 'stray-file' on the side table. He picked them up and sat down at the conference table. On a closer look he could see the photos weren't photos at all but pencil drawings. Very accurate drawings.

"_I trust my eyes and my memory when I draw something." _Maybe this Terry was similar to Matthew.

"_Everything is in front of your eyes but you refuse to take a closer look and see the connections…"_ What is right in front of our eyes? The things you notice at first when you step into a room.

There were some things highlighted on the drawings. Some architectural details or furniture… Both inside and outside, depending on the place in question.

"Reid, did you find anything?" Hotch asked.

"I guess… Garcia, would you see if any art prizes were given to the hostages?"

"Art? That's quite interesting insight to this…" The tech commented. "Bingo, all of them. Every single one of them has participated to AIA's designing competition and won. Some of them… actually majority of them have also studied there."

"What's AIA?" Morgan asked immediately. Oliver was the one to give the answer to that question.

"Atlanta's Institute of Arts. I know it because that's the place where Terry studies at the moment."

"Really? But isn't that institute… like comparable to universities?" JJ frowned.

"Terry is twenty." The Detective stated like it would've been the most obvious fact in the world. His eyes locked on the file Reid was reading. "You interested in his theory?"

"Yes, he actually has quite interesting views written down on this. According to this, the previous hostage gives us a clue what will be the next place. The UnSubs must know the routines of everyone who they're taking as a hostages and the fact that they visit the places the previous hostages has been taken."

"Not only that. The hostages are actually taken on the order they have won." Garcia commented. "And if that theory is right… The next one will be last year's winner from the place the winner before him has designed."

"And who is that person then?" Rossi asked.

"Terence Reed."

Klonk.

Oliver's empty coffee cup fell on the floor.

"What?!" He snapped.

"And the place in question is supposed to be a cafeteria called…" Garcia continued quickly but didn't have a chance to end her sentence when Officer Nolan came to the room.

"Oliver, there has been another attack."

"Where?"

"Caffeine Forest." At that answer, Oliver paled visibly.

"Let's go." He took his jacket and left after the woman. Hotch followed them and gave his orders to his team at the same time.

"Rossi, Prentiss, you stay here. Start working on with the preliminary profile. JJ, try to keep media out of this for now. Morgan and Reid with me. Garcia, expect the surveillance camera films at any moment."

* * *

They arrived to the scene which was already surrounded by a yellow crime scene tape. A couple of officers were taking statements from the witnesses while a few more were keeping the curious spectators away. Suddenly one of the witnesses spotted them coming. She ducked under the tape and ran to Oliver. She was wearing a red dress, a white short-sleeved shirt under it, white pink-striped tights and a pair of red platform boots. Over everything that she had a short red cape with a hood.

"Oliver, this is horrible." She said. "This is horrible."

"Hey, who are you? Little Red Riding Hood?" Morgan asked before he could stop himself. Hotch shot him a glare. The girl looked at him.

"Isn't it obvious?" She scoffed. "My name is Audrey Mason."

"Audrey, what is horrible?" Oliver sighed even though he had a good idea about it.

"I was in that cafeteria with Terry, listening to him while he complained about this case and how _you_ never listen. According to him he knew who was the master mind behind everything this." The girl, Audrey, glared the detective. "And then they came. They robbers shot the clerk… poor Robert… the medics said he'll be okay though…"

"Audrey…"

"I'm coming to it! The robbers were threatening all of us. One of them even pointed me with a gun. And they asked…" The girl paused and closed her eyes for a second. "They asked which one of us was Terence Reed. And Terry stepped forward, without any hesitation. They took his wallet to confirm his identity and after tossing it aside, they dragged him away." Now there was a couple or tears glistening in Audrey's eyes. "But I trust him. He said he knew what was going to happen and that he'd be fine but I don't know how…"

Reid watched the girl playing with a lock of her hair absent-mindedly and looked at 'the stray-file' he had accidentally taken with him. There was a post-it stuck on the front cover.

'To S.R.  
Hopefully you are smart enough  
to consider everything written to this file.  
It might speed up your investigation a bit.  
Wait for my message tomorrow.  
T.R.'

* * *

**A/N: Okay. What did you think? Tell me plz so I work hard with the next chapters. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: For the sake of my readers I worked really hard. Thank you for the faves and reviews. I luv ya all! Chu! Now it's already the third chapter. It's longer than the other two and hopefully the upcoming chapter will be something like this length. About Audrey's outfic... I described it quite accurately but if you want to see a picture about it go to Tsukiko75014's Deviantart account and find a pic named: You are very interesting person, Derek Morgan.**

**BTW, There will be some violence at the end of the chapter. But nothing too bad.**

**Thank you.**

* * *

_Las Vegas, Nevada  
The 15__th__ of July 1994, Friday_

_Spencer watched out of the window of his room. Matthew hadn't come yet. He hadn't come yesterday either. Had he already left back to Idaho? Without telling Spencer?_

_Apparently not. There he was now. Standing on the pavement, pondering whether or not to step on the lawn and the shadow of the tree the boys had sat in two days earlier. Spencer didn't wait for that decision. He ran quietly to downstairs so he wouldn't wake up his mother and opened the front door._

"_Matthew! I thought you had left!" He yelled to the boy who jumped slightly. After the first shock, a wide smile spread on Matthew's face. His first true smile Spencer had seen._

"_Sorry, Spencie. There was a murder case at the hotel. I stayed around to find out who was the culprit."_

"_Did you find out it then?" Spencer had now his shoes on and stepped outside._

"_I did, the police didn't. It was the same guy than five years ago. The M.O. was the same and…" Matthew finally stepped on the grass and sat down next to Spencer as he kept a dramatic pause. "…and I saw the guy having a fight with the person who got killed later on the day."_

"_So you are a witness. Shouldn't you have told the police then what you saw?" Spencer asked. He was surprised about the way Matthew talked about the crime. Like an adult, very objectively._

"_Who would've believed me? And in order to question kids, the cops need at least one parent present or at least their allowance. I don't want to bother my parents. I would only get in trouble…" Matthew's voice died down and he shuddered. Spencer frowned. Were the boy's parents abusing him? Anyways he'd better get the conversation on better tracks._

"_Well, what did you find out then? You said you solved the case."_

"_Yeah, but in order to understand it I have to start from the beginning…"_

* * *

_An hour passed by easily by Matthew telling about the case and how he sneaked around gathering information. Spencer found it weird how he didn't find it disturbing that the boy didn't seemed to be affected by the corpse he so accurately was able to describe._

"_I could draw a picture but I guess you don't want to see it. It was quita eww…" Matthew crunched his face. "Hey, how did you do that?"_

"_Do what?" Spencer asked. Matthew pointed his right hand. The older boy opened it and found a coin resting on it. "Oh, it's just a simple vanishing trick. See." Spencer made the coin vanish and then appear to his left hand._

"_I know what you did but how did you do it, is my question. I know that in the theory it's all about where the spectator's attention is and how discreetly a magician can do it. The point is in quick fingers. Can you teach me?"_

"_Sure. Do you have a coin with you?"_

"_Of course I have." Matthew rummaged his backpack and took a coin in his wallet._

"_Alright, the first thing is that…"_

* * *

_They spent the whole morning sitting on the lawn and trying to make the trick work. Matthew learnt the basic idea very quickly and when showing it to some little kids he'd get a lot of applause. But for older children the trick was quite unpolished. But Spencer was proud of him. He could now easily say: 'The rest is up to you.' and know the boy would master it during the years. It was relaxing to be with someone with similar interests, even if they were younger than him._

"_How smart you exactly are, Matthew?"_

"_Huh?" The boy dropped the coin he'd been practicing but picked it up quickly. He became defensive immediately. "What… What do you mean with that question?"_

"_You are really smart. I'm also quite smart. I finished high school a couple of years ago and now I'm only fourteen. You can easily keep up conversations with me and managed to solve a crime based on the evidence you saw while LVPD are still clueless. So I was thinking, how smart you exactly are, Matthew?"_

"_Two years ago my teacher wanted to measure my IQ… After getting the results, she talked to my parents that I should skip grades. They refused. Said it wasn't normal. They wanted a normal family. I wasn't normal, no matter what they tried. Ti-Timothy was. He was a perfect son…" Matthew tugged grass, his eyes on the ground. When he got one leaf, he started to rip it. "So I stayed in elementary school… but I sometimes went to read Timothy's school books. He let me do his homework because he was always going to play baseball. And then, when I had time I spent my time on the library. That's my favorite place on the whole town."_

"_Do you know what your test results said?" Spencer knew he was pushing it but couldn't help his curiosity._

"_165. I heard it when my teacher argued with my parents. They were in another room but I heard everything."_

"_I'm sorry but at the same time I guess I'm quite relieved."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I relieved that you didn't need to go through the same thing than I. Trust me, it's really hard to be in high school when you are four to six years younger than everyone else." Spencer tried to act braver than he actually was but he felt like he had to. For Matthew's sake. Even though he wasn't quite sure how the boy himself viewed him._

"_I was never bullied. Everyone was too scared about Timothy… even though he wouldn't have done anything to help me if I were. But it hasn't been easy for me either… being the smartest of the class. I keep a low profile. But luckily I have my own little projects."_

"_What projects?"_

"_A-Art projects. I tell stories to P-Phoebe and draw pictures for them." Matthew stammered. A half-truth. He had originally meant something else. He had accidentally slipped that bit of information._

"_I see. Phoebe must be happy then." Spencer smiled like he hadn't noticed anything._

"_She is. She's really happy." Matthew smiled back, a bit awkwardly._

* * *

Atlanta, Idaho  
The 27th of May 2005, Friday  
07:36 AM

Reid yawned widely as he made his way to the SUV. He hadn't slept very well last night. Well, who would've? Two hours after arriving, the ninth attack had taken place and this time the hostage had been the younger brother of the Detective who had been in response of the case. So, the case had become a personal battle to him. And also to Reid. Not for any particular reason. Only because Terence Reed had asked to. Reid stared at the post-it he had spotted at the cafeteria.

'To S.R.  
Hopefully you are smart enough  
to consider everything written to this file.  
It might speed up your investigation a bit.  
Wait for my message tomorrow.  
T.R.'

The message had been addressed directly to him, Reid was sure about it. But how? In the argument the BAU had overheard… It indicated that Terry hadn't known that they were coming.

"_Because of him I postponed calling you here."_ Maybe it wasn't _because of him_. Maybe it was _because of his request_. Oliver Reed seemed like a person who gave in a lot for his brother's sake. For some reason or another. But assuming wouldn't lead this anywhere. Reid looked at the note. Most likely Terry knew they were coming soon. Soon enough to let himself to be taken a hostage. But why address this directly to Reid?

"Hey, Pretty boy, you with us?" Morgan asked behind the wheel.

"Y-Yeah, everything is fine." Reid forced a smile on his face.

* * *

08:14 AM

"Let's get through what we already have. The UnSubs are most likely holding a grudge against people who has won the designing competition held by AIA. The most plausible opinion is that they have also participated to it. And now they see in everyday life the pieces of work they lost to." Rossi deducted when they all had settled down on the conference room. Oliver was also there, on his place at the door.

"But they also have to be someone who knows these people and their routines. I mean… all of these hostages haven't studied at AIA, only take part on this competition. Anyone can get the names from the Internet but it's a whole different matter to find them. Especially in as organized way as these guys do. There hasn't been a single hostage who hasn't won the prize." Prentiss added.

"Is there any reason the hostages have developed a habit of going to these places?" Morgan asked.

"Terry wrote that at least he used to go all these places to find inspiration and see how high he has to aim with his own work. Later he started to visit Caffeine Forest regularly to finish his essays." Reid told behind the file he was re-reading. "He and other art students had been recommended to take a look on the winning works."

"Who recommended it?" Hotch asked sharply.

"Professor Martin Goodwill, he mentored majority of the students and other participants. He has been teaching at AIA for fifteen years already and also taken part on several competitions during the years." Garcia replied. "Everything has been recorded on diaries and lesson plans at AIA's intranet."

"You hacked yourself in?" Oliver asked incredulously.

"Why, honey… Of course I did! Hard times need hard ways to get forward."

"Ollie, wasn't it obvious that she'd do it?" A new voice joined in. The detective turned around slightly.

"Audrey, what are you doing here? And in that outfic?" He asked the girl who stood right outside of the room in… very interesting outfic. It was nothing like The Little Red Riding Hood outfic she had worn on the previous day. This one resembled more a Japanese school girl's uniform yet was nothing like it. The grey skirt was short at the front but reached her shins at the back and had lime green silk inside. As a top she had a black vest and a white shirt with a bright blue tie. The bright blue and lime green were repeated also in her gloves, hair accessories and in the buckles of her black combat boots with two inch high soles. The only color, which appeared only once in the whole outfic, came from her deep violet over-knee socks.

"I came to help. After all I know Terry much better than you do. Besides… did you honestly think I use the same outfic on two following days? You should know me better than that." She huffed and sat on a chair next to Garcia who seemed to be the only one in the room who wasn't taken aback by the outfic.

"Right… What else do we know about the places?" Oliver turned the attention back on the case. He felt like collapsing down and burying his face on his hands but couldn't do it. Yes, he was worried about Terry but he really had to cool down now and concentrate on the case itself.

"The library." Morgan stated but couldn't quite keep his eyes away from the girl's leg. (A/N: You pervert!) "All the other places have had the winning work but the design in the library has been designed later. But. It has been designed by the guy who was taken from the previous place."

"So the place doesn't matter so much, only the people taken." JJ confirmed.

"It appears so. Otherwise the UnSubs would probably go and vandalize the places." Reid said. "Ms. Mason, do you know what Terry has exactly designed?"

Audrey looked up from the computer screen and stopped the movement she had been doing with her hand at the same time: playing with a small button.

"I don't know… I mean, he has designed quite much but I don't know how much has been carried out. After all the students of AIA have quite a good reputation. He probably has some files in his room. Though… he quite a secretive person." She replied and continued playing with the button on her right hand as she turned back looking at the screen where the footage about the latest attack was running. Her hand made the button vanish and then appear again. She was good. Almost as good as the young doctor was.

"Alright, Morgan, Reid, go with Detective –…" Hotch started but Oliver cut him off.

"Oliver. Call me by my first name so we are saved from unnecessary confusions. After all the pronunciation is the same." The Detective placed his coffee cup on a side table. "Terry is living with me at the moment."

* * *

Oliver was driving. Morgan sat on the front while Reid occupied the back seat, reading the file. Every single time he read it, he noticed something new.

"You know agent Morgan…" Oliver said.

"Yes?"

"That was my sister you were staring at. And she's sixteen."

"Audrey? But she…"

"I know. She has different surname and when she dresses up and uses higher shoes, she looks older. You are not the first one to stare her or question her age. Heck, once one thought she and Terry were twins."

"Why does she have a different surname then?"

"She was adopted to Mason's. Terry and I managed to get her out of home before anything happened to her." Oliver explained.

"Before anything happened to her?" Morgan repeated. Reid also lifted his gaze up from the file.

"I guess I can trust you two in this case. Although I don't see what damage would it do to the reputation of our family but…"

"Reputation?" Reid asked quietly. This definitely had caught his attention.

"Father was abusing Terry. And only Terry. I was always left alone and thus didn't do anything to help him. But I did became afraid for Audrey when she was born. We managed to get her out of the house when she was four. It was actually quite easy to talk our parents into it and the Masons were an absolutely wonderful couple."

"Why Terry was the only one abused?" Morgan frowned. He had met several child abuse cases but it was rarer that only one of the children was abused.

"Because Terry was so smart. Much smarter than I ever were or would be. And in their eyes it wasn't normal. Both of our parents were kinda twisted. Mother was aiming to perfection. When she wasn't working, she was always cleaning up and checking everything was on their right places. If something was off, she could easily get nervous breakdowns. Father in the other hand couldn't stand anything abnormal and on his standards Terry was abnormal."

"That's crazy, man!"

"I know and I'm ashamed I never tried to stand up for Terry. Now I'm trying to fix it all I can but nothing can bring yesterday back."

"What was your father's definition of normality?" Reid asked.

"Something like me. A bit above average in studies, good at sports and things like that. Terry was always behind his books, asking difficult questions, learning new and drawing his photograph-like pictures. He also had excellent memory."

"_Two years ago my teacher wanted to measure my IQ… After getting the results, she talked to my parents that I should skip grades. They refused. Said it wasn't normal. They wanted a normal family. I wasn't normal, no matter what they tried. Ti-Timothy was. He was a perfect son…"_

"Does a name Matthew Thompson say anything to you?"

"Matthew Thompson? No, sorry. Ah, here we are." Oliver stopped the car and they climbed down. It was a nice middle-classed suburban house. They strode to the door and the Detective opened it.

"Terry's room is upstairs. I don't usually visit it so I don't know what to wait." He explained as they arrived to the last door on a short corridor.

The room behind the door was quite small but still spacious as there was nothing scattered on the floor. The wall on the left was covered by a big dark bookshelf full of all kinds of books. On the right wall was nothing except a bed with a dark cover and a few colorful pillows. On the rear wall, right opposite the door was a window and under it a white desk. Everything was tidy and there were no personal items displayed.

"This is kind of creepy." Morgan commented quietly.

"Yeah, but it was worse when he was a kid." Oliver answered.

"Has he tried to hide something from you?" Reid asked.

"Like Audrey said, Terry is very secretive person. It's hard to tell what's going on in his mind. Why do you ask?"

"This room practically screams us to find out things about him. Tells us about a suppressed a nature."

"Well, I'm not surprised then. Like I already told, Terry is really smart but our parents didn't accept it. He tried to hide is the best he could and did his schooling on a normal pace. He came to read my school books all the time so I allowed him to do my homework sometimes…"

"_So I stayed in elementary school… but I sometimes went to read Timothy's school books. He let me do his homework because he was always going to play baseball."_

The three stepped into the room and stared to look around. There were some sketch pads and files on the desk but nothing else.

"Three possibilities…" Oliver muttered. "Well, that was less than I was hoping for."

* * *

09:26 AM

Audrey sat next to Garcia and watched the security camera footage while chatting happily.

"Did you see how Derek looked at you?" The tech giggled.

"Oh, yes I did. He is not the first one with a reaction like that to this outfic." The girl smirked. "Oh, you should have seen the faces of my teachers when I went to school in this."

"What did they do then?"

"They stared at my legs and seemed like they wanted to do something unrespectable with me. Almost all the male students were the same. The girls just glared at me. I have never had many friends." Audrey shrugged. "But the best part comes here. One group of jocks had cornered me right outside of chemistry classrooms when one teacher, male, walked along the corridor. He ordered the idiots to let me go and after they were gone, instead of asking if I were okay he started to reprimand me for dressing up like a whore."

"No way! And he's a teacher!"

"Wait a bit. This didn't end yet. I told him that he couldn't really tell me how to dress up as he had been once arrested for harassing some dancers in some bar and that I had seen how _he_ had stared me. He got quite angry for that remark and took me to headmaster's – I mean headmistress's – office. There he told her how derogatory outfic I had and how I had insulted him after he had nicely told me I should watch out when I wear a dress like that."

"How dare he? Lie like that to his boss."

"Well, it was fortunate for me that our headmistress wanted also listen to my point of view. So I told her truthfully what had happened, word to word what I had said and what he had said. And on the next morning he got fired."

"Whoa, that's amazing. But did you really get off the hook just like that?"

"Headmistress asked me if I'd wear this outfic less. She told me she liked my style but advised me to be careful with this one." Audrey's explained and focused back on the footage. Narrowing her eyes she told Garcia to stop the film. "Terry doesn't stumble. He must've done that on purpose. Let it go on slow motion."

The slim form of the young man had fallen on the ground. One of the robbers seemed to be yelling at him. Slowly, especially on slow motion, Terry got on his feet and…

"Stop it again. What is that? That white area. It wasn't there before." Audrey pointed a white spot near her brother's feet.

"It's not just an area…" Garcia stated and zoomed the picture. "It's a licence plate. The bad guys obviously just covered them not removed."

"And Terry stumbled and fell so he could remove the cover and give us an extra clue." Audrey's face brightened immediately. "The robbers didn't notice anything because Terry has so quick fingers. I'm not as good at all." She took her button again and vanished it.

"We did it! High-five, sis!"

* * *

12:04 PM

Terry groaned. He had a horrible headache. A pounding one, like someone had hit him with a frying pan. Thus he didn't sit up yet. Instead he observed his surroundings. He was lying on a hard narrow bed in a small room. The walls were brown and there was only one window which was boarded. There were no fabrics in the room. Not even bed sheets, only a thin mattress on the bed. On the wall near Terry's feet was a door without a door knob. It had a key hole though.

"Maybe… Later…" Terry sat up slowly. The pounding inside his head had increased. Whether it was from the hit he had received inside the robbers' van or from the lack of his meds, he didn't know. "I can survive one more day I guess… Then I have to get out of here."

He looked at the boarded window. Sunlight was seeping through the gaps between the boards and provided the only light to the room. Not enormously but pretty much. Terry rose up and looked outside. There were birches and elms and a small hill nearby. Terry smirked. He knew where he was.

Rattling of keys alerted Terry and he sat down on the bed. He placed his head on his hands and pretended having just woken up with a headache. There wasn't much need to pretend though. The door opened and an old man stepped in. He was carrying an aluminum tray with a plate of soup and a glass of water on it. Terry recognized the man. He was AIA's janitor. No one knew his name so everyone called him Mr. Janitor. He was nice to everyone and did his work well. Why was he there? He wasn't the type of person to kidnap others nor did he have any reason to participate in this. Unless…

"Eat up. You'll need your strength." The Janitor said. Terry frowned but took the tray anyways.

"Why are you doing this?" The boy asked and started to eat the tomato soup.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Reed, I really am…" The Janitor mumbled. He was always polite and remembered everyone's names. Even now. "But… They… He…"

"Threatened you? Professor Goodwill did it, didn't he?"

"How do you know?"

"I'm not just a student, Mr, Janitor. I've been investigating this case since the beginning until… yesterday when the FBI took it." Terry glanced at his watch and saw it was already midday.

"The FBI?" The Janitor blanched.

"Yeah. I suppose they have already found out about Goodwill but as he is only the mastermind who sits behind his desk at the Institute, they can't do anything. Who would've guessed that he'd become bitter about mentoring the students who win the prize always in front of his nose? I did. Do you know who are doing the dirty work?"

"No… I've seen them but I don't know who they are. They are not from here. My job is only to take care of the hostages while they are gone."

"I see…"

A door slammed shut downstairs. The Janitor jumped slightly, took the tray and left the room in hurry.

"Stay strong." He whispered before locking the door. Not long after that, the door opened again and two muscled men dragged Terry roughly out of the room to another one. This room was much larger. It had only one piece of furniture: a wooden chair nailed on the floor in the middle of the room. Terry swallowed as he saw specks of blood on the floor. This was the room the other hostages were beaten to death and tortured. The men shoved him on the chair and tied his ankles to the chair legs. Then they tied his arms behind his back. Terry didn't struggle: he knew it would do nothing.

"Before you start. Would you tell me one thing?" He asked. "Why are you beating me up? Why did you beat up everyone else too?"

"Because we were told to do so. We are paid for getting the certain people here and then beat them up. And we can keep the money we steal from the shops." One of them said.

"And the guy who pays for you doesn't take any of it?"

"Mr. Goodwill is satisfied by getting your lot out of the books of living and we do what we are told to do." The other said. "And now shut your mouth."

The first blow hit Terry on squarely on the jaw and his head snapped back. _"Ouch, not bad… but father was worse…"_

The second blow hit him on the midsection, a bit below his ribcage. After the three following strikes, he lost his consciousness.

* * *

**A/N: Poor Terry, he got hurt... But I gotta love Audrey and her personality. She is a bit like Garcia, isn't she? No wonder they get along so well.**

**Hmm... Have I made too obvious who Matthew Thompson actually is? I suppose so. Well, I can't help it anymore.**

**The next chapter is under work at the moment. I don't know when it'll be done but hopefully soon. :) Wish me luck.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hiya, I'm here again. And I'm so proud of myself. I really hope you like this one. Terry is quite baddass(how it's spelled?) but gotta love him anyways. Matthew is just so sweet. And now you'll meet two other little boys(my OCs too). Take care of them okay. They are brave kids.**

**At the moment I don't find anything else to add. Oh, here is Audrey's outfic from the previous chapter. Just copy-paste it and put dots instead of spaces.**

** tsukiko75014 deviantart com/art/Audrey-Mason-355606361**

* * *

_Las Vegas, Nevada  
__The 16__th__ of July 1994, Saturday_

_It was raining. It was quite surprising actually since the place was Vegas and it was the middle of July. Spencer didn't mind the rain. It refreshed the air and made good for plants. It had been dull grey and brown lately due the lack of rains. The boy sat by the living room window and was reading some book he had picked up from his mother's bookshelf. Time to time he glanced outside to see if Matthew had decided to come. It was Saturday though and the boy's parents probably weren't working today._

_It was a bit past midday when Spencer finally put the book aside. He had been reading slower than usually, distracted by the thought whether or not Matthew would come. He looked outside again and there he was, sitting on the grass and looking up to the sky. He had his backpack next to him and had covered it with a raincoat. Matthew had turned his back towards the house so he didn't notice when Spencer came outside with and umbrella and walked to him._

"_Why are you outside?" Spencer asked._

"_Just felt like it." Came the answer._

"_Come in."_

"_Nah… It's nice here."_

"_You get soaked."_

"_I already am."_

"_True, but you need to get inside so you won't catch a cold."_

"_Have you ever heard of saying that 'idiots don't catch a cold' meaning that if you are stupid you get sick less easily?"_

"_I few times. Why?"_

"_Isn't it quite rude? I mean… the word 'idiot' doesn't actually mean a stupid person. Originally it was a name for one type of… how would I say…"_

"_Illness?"_

"_I suppose that is the word that fits best at the moment. For example Forrest Gump. Have you read that book?"_

"_Not yet, it was published this year, right?"_

"_Yes, Forrest Gump was an idiot but he wasn't stupid. He was smart but he had troubles in expressing it to others and that's why got the stamp of a stupid person right in the middle of his forehead. But now we are getting a bit out of topic, aren't we?" Matthew babbled and looked at Spencer for the first time since the beginning of the conversation._

"_Maybe. Would you come inside?"_

"_No thanks. I'm reciting the Morse code in my head. And the flag signals. And everything else interesting and useful."_

"_I'll stay with you then. Are your parents working today?" Spencer sat down on the soggy grass and held the umbrella above the both of them._

"_Yeah, they are getting a good look on some office buildings or something…" Matthew's stomach growled. "Oh…"_

"_Have you eaten anything?"_

"_A breakfast but nothing after that."_

"_Okay then, come."_

"_What?" But Spencer was already on his feet and pulling Matthew also up. The smaller boy could barely take his backpack with him as he was taken towards the house. "Hey, what are you doing?"_

"_I'm making some lunch to both of us. And we'll also dry your clothes."_

"_Ah, you don't need… I don't want to be a bother…"_

"_I don't need but I want." They were now inside. Matthew looked around in the house. It was quite nice and spacious. And a bit messy too. Much different than their own house. He didn't call it home. To the boy it was just a place where he lived because he had no other place to go. Phoebe had been lucky…_

"_You can borrow my clothes while yours are drying." Spencer told and led Matthew to a bathroom. He gave a fluffy towel to the boy. "Wait here and dry your hair while I get you some clothes. They might be a bit too big but better than nothing, right?"_

"_R-Right." Matthew nodded and blushed a bit, hiding his face to the towel. No one had ever before watched after him like this. No one. The action didn't go unnoticed by Spencer but he just smiled and exited the bathroom._

"_Spencer, who are you talking to?" His mother asked from the room nearby. Spencer walked to the doorway._

"_It's just Matthew. He was sitting in the rain and soaking himself so I invited him inside. Do you mind?"_

"_No, it's just good that you have a friend." Diana Reid said from her place on the bottom of her bed._

"_Yeah." Spencer left the room and closed the door quietly. He picked up some clothes from his own room and gave them to Matthew. After a while the younger boy stepped out from the bathroom and they hung his clothes on a radiator._

"_Are you hungry?"_

"_A bit." Matthew knitted the hem of the over-sized shirt as he followed Spencer through the house._

"_Is… Is something wrong?" Spencer frowned._

"_N-No… I just…" The boy tilted his head on the right and seemed to think what he would say. "It must be nice to have a mother who loves you."_

* * *

The 27th of May 2005, Friday  
12:49 PM

Terry woke up and found himself from the small room again. His whole body was sore from the mugging. He ran his fingers up and down his ribs to check if any of them was broken. To his relief every one of them was still in one piece. But most likely some if not all were fractured and wouldn't survive from another treatment like that anytime soon. He'd better act now. Terry glanced at his wrist watch. It was surprising that those guys hadn't taken it away from him. Too bad for them though. Terry sat up and winced in pain. No, he couldn't stop now. He went to the window and smiled. The sun was in ideal position now and there was two small boy's on the hill, like they were every day about that time.

* * *

"Hey, Aiden, look!" The older of the brothers, Charlie, pointed to the direction of 'The Ghost House'. It was an old three-storey house made of wood. It had been empty for decades and no one knew who owned it or the site it had been built on. The two boys had named the house 'The Ghost House' with Terry and Audrey and had visited it for a few times. Lately they hadn't because some weird men were sometimes around. But now there was light flashing from one of the boarded windows of the third floor. The younger of the brothers, eight-year-old Aiden, turned to look the direction his brother pointed.

"It's a Morse code!" He exclaimed.

"I know it dummy." Charlie snapped. He shielded his eyes from the sunlight as he started to dechipter the code. "S.O.S. MT HERE… Aiden, it's Terry."

"Yeah." Aiden nodded and took the second part of the message. "C-O-M-E H-E-R-E. B-E C-A-R-E-F-U-L. Come here. Be careful."

"Let's go then. We have to climb up to the third floor window. Do you have a paper and a pen?"

"Yeah." The younger boy nodded again and they took off. The green car the creepy men had come with was away now. The boys sneaked closer to the house, silently like a pair of shadows. It was the easy part. The harder part was to get up to the third floor.

"Aiden, give me the pen and paper, I'll climb up. You stay here on the watch. Warn me if someone comes and hide them."

Aiden nodded. He always obeyed Charlie. After all he was already twelve. And that was almost being an adult. The older boy started to climb up the wall. It was surprisingly easy as the gaps of the board were large enough to fit the tip of shoe. And of course there were the window sills, excellent places to take a breath before continuing.

"Hi, Charles. Great job. That wasn't easy." The voice that belonged to Terry said behind the boards. Charlie grinned.

"Nah, I've done it once before."

"I remember that. You climbed on the roof and I had to come to fetch you from there."

"Why are you here?"

"The bad guys kidnapped me."

"I heard. So they have conquered this place." Charlie said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, have you a paper and a pen?"

"Here. Aiden always carries these with him." The boy slid them inside. The paper rolled around the pen.

"Smart kid."

"Hey, what about me? I was the one to notice the light you were flashing."

"Good job from both of you. Here, take this message to Oliver. Don't give it to anyone else. Do you understand?" Terry gave the paper back on the same way it had been given to him. Charlie stuffed it to his pocket.

"Got it. Bye, Terry. Stay safe."

"I try." The man behind the boards chuckled as the boy started to climb down.

* * *

01:13 PM

Oliver sat down at his desk with a sigh. They had gotten one lead thanks to Audrey and Garcia but that lead hadn't taken them very far yet. The license plate was from a car that belonged to a guy who had been released from a prison about a year ago. The name was John Downton. He and his three known accomplishes were all reported missing by their landlord. They hadn't paid their rents for months now. They hadn't used their credit cards anywhere so the police had no idea where they were.

"How come are they so good to disappear?" Prentiss huffed as they went through the little information the team had managed to find about the group.

"They have done it several times while avoiding the police. And if they really are behind this they have a lot of cash to use." JJ answered.

"But why start taking hostages and use a pattern like this? Previously they have just stricken to some place and then vanished until the next heist." Rossi pointed out.

"Maybe they haven't planned this by themselves…" Reid trailed off. "Remember, it must be someone who knows the hostages personally. These guys in the other hand do anything for money."

"The group who does the dirty work without a motive and a mastermind with a motive but no intention of dirtying his hands." Prentiss phrased the thought everyone had put together by the genius's observations.

"Garcia, go through the people who have visited John Downton on the year before his release." Hotch started to give orders. "Prentiss, Morgan, go to the Institute and find out about the professors there. Especially Martin Goodwill. JJ…"

"I keep a press conference about these suspects." The blond woman nodded and was about the exit the room when the door burst open two little boy's ran in. Oliver rose up from his chair.

"Charlie, Aiden, what have I said about coming here?"

"Do not come to the police station unless it's an emergency you are sure about or something really important." Charlie replied, quoting word to word what the Detective had told him and his brother.

"Exactly, Charlie. So tell me, what are you doing here?"

"It's an emergency… kinda important." Aiden told confidently.

"Yeah, a message from Matthew Thompson." Charlie continued.

"Really?" Audrey had appeared behind the boys. "Is he alright?"

"Seemed to be fine." Charlie nodded.

"Audrey, who is this Matthew Thompson? Something relevant to this case?" Oliver frowned as he remembered Doctor Reid asking about that name too. Behind his back Reid glanced to Garcia's direction. The woman shrugged. She hadn't found anything yet.

"Ah, Matthew Thompson is the name of one of the main characters in the stories Terry used to tell me. Nowadays I'm writing those stories down and creating my own ones. But when we were kids we used to play along those stories. Kind of roleplaying you see. Terry was always Matthew, while I was Phoebe. If you had been with our games, you could've been Timothy." The girl pouted.

The pieces clicked together now. It was far too big coincidence for those three names to appear during the same conversation, especially linked together like that. Reid had started to suspect it during the morning but now he was sure about it: Terence Reed was the boy he had met eleven years ago. But why he had used a different name back then?

"So Terry sent us that message?" Oliver asked his sister.

"Yup. Can we see that message?" Audrey asked the boys. Charlie stuffed his hands into his pockets and after a moment of rummaging them he found the pen with the paper rolled around it. The paper was now quite suffered since the boy had other things in his pockets too.

"I knew there was a reason why Aiden always had these…" He mumbled and gave the pen to Audrey.

"Thank you…" The girl took the pen and unwrapped the message around it. She started to read it aloud.

'_Hi, you all. Terry here. I'm being held at the Ghost House. Ask Audrey if you don't know the place.  
At the moment there is only one person here with me. Don't hurt him. He is threatened to help.  
The other guys are nastier. I've met only two of them this far and they gave me a 'medieval problem solving' –treatment.  
I don't think I'll survive from another one in one piece, so please come quickly._

_Terry'_

"We better hurry then." Oliver stated and went to talk with Martha. They'd better get a squad ready and fast. Reid kneeled down on the level of the boys.

"Hey, how did you find out that Terry was at the Ghost House?"

"We play almost every day at the hill near the Ghost House. This time Terry just happened to send us signals with the sunlight." Charlie explained while Aiden nodded enthusiastically next to him.

"It was the Morse code. Terry taught it to us. He signaled to us this message: S.O.S., MT here. Come here. Be careful." The younger boy added.

"He asked you to come to the house?" Rossi asked, stunned.

"Yeah, the bad guys were gone now. I climbed the whole way up to the third floor window." Charlie said proudly.

"That's great, Charlie, but go home now. Your mother must be worried." Oliver was back, fastening his bulletproof vest. "And thank you for help."

"Call us when Terry is safe, okay?" The boy said before the two were gone.

* * *

01:48 PM

The BAU was organized outside of the house with the police squad, ready to rush in. It was possible that there was no one else except Terry and that 'innocent' person but better safe than sorry. About that time the front door opened and a silhouette appeared on the doorway. They all pointed their guns towards him. The silhouette just leaned casually against the doorframe, his arms grossed on his chest and slightly amused smirk on his face. It was hard to tell due the direction of the sunlight.

"You surely took your time. Another twenty minutes and I would've appeared on the station." The silhouette called and Oliver lowered his gun as he recognized the voice.

"Terry, what the heck?"

"Hmm… I guess I should have mentioned that the bad guys aren't back till tomorrow. So you wouldn't exaggerate so much." Terry stepped down on the sun porch and walked towards them. Martha and JJ gasped at the state he was in. His whole face was bruised and most likely so was the rest of his body. There was some dried blood in his hair and on his clothes.

"At least I wiped my face so don't look like that." Terry resisted the urge to snap them. "Like I already told you I probably wouldn't survive from another treatment like that. And the blood isn't mine."

"How did you get out of the third floor?" Oliver asked impatiently and signaled to the paramedics nearby.

"As my brother you should now but I see you haven't paid any attention on what you have taught me." Terry sighed and pulled two thin wires from his pocket. "I had these two hidden in the collar of my shirt. As you should remember, you were the one to teach me lock picking."

"Just get into the hospital." Oliver finally snapped. He had been sick of worry and that was the way Terry thanked him.

"Oh, I had to knock Mr. Janitor out. He's tied up in the kitchen. Don't hurt him, okay?" Terry called over his shoulder as he walked away with the medics.

* * *

04:33 PM

The Janitor was in the interrogation room. It turned up professor Goodwill was indeed behind everything and a pair of cops was sent to arrest the man. The about the other members of the team… They were supposed to come back to the house around midday on the next day. No charges were pressed on the old man as his assistance was forced and he voluntarily gave information to BAU. The police and the FBI unit decided to ambush the robbery group on the next day. Hopefully after that the case would get wrapped up.

* * *

**A/N: I suppose this was a bit shorter than the previous one... Oh well...**

**Anyways, plz rvw! I'll be extremelly grateful for that as always. It gives me powers to continue this.**

**Plz**

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**Okay?**

**Thanks.**

**:)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi all! I'm back! I have to tell you to things. The first one is official one. My school starts again tomorrow(I've been on a holiday) and it means less time for writing. I'll try really hard to finish this aas soon as possible. Only two chapters left! Whoot! :D**

**The second thing is quite funny. Here in Finland the CM episodes doesn't come in the same pace than in America(cronologically yes). On the channel 4 I'm watching the eight season every Thursday and from FOX I've been watching the fifth one Mon-Fri. This is about the FOX's episodes. On thursday I was dusting some of my marionettes(souvenirs from Czech Republic) and thought about an UnSub who kidnapped people and made then lifesize marionettes. The victims would be alive but paralyzed. And bam! The night's episode was Uncanny Valley. On the next day I was writing this chapter and on the night... bam! Suicides. What the heck is going on?**

**I hope you ... well, not necessary enjoy but like this chapter. Poor Terry. What's going on...**

* * *

_Las Vegas, Nevada  
The 17__th__ of July 1994, Sunday_

_Spencer sighed. Matthew wouldn't come today. The boy had told his parents would be at the hotel or at some casinos the whole day and on the evening they all would go to eat to some fancy restaurant. So he was stuck in the city center and Spencer would be alone for the whole day. Yes, he was used to his solitude but at times it became quite depressing and his mother's occasional fits didn't make it any easier. Besides… Spencer knew he'd miss Matthew's company when the boy would leave to Idaho._

* * *

_Matthew – no, Terence Reed – sat anxiously on his seat at Hotel Green Fortune's breakfast hall. His brother Oliver sat next to him and was eating scrambled eggs and bacon. His mother Tina sat at the other side and his father Adam opposite the boy. Terence didn't want to be there. He really didn't. He wanted to be with Spencer after all he was his… very first real friend. Audrey didn't count. She was his sister, much more than a friend. Although so was…_

_Terence shook his head. He must not think of it. He had to focus on this place and this moment. Silently he took his plate full of fresh fruits and bread and started to eat. Mother was talking about some business things with father. Neither one of them were paying any attention on Terence or Oliver._

"_What have you done during this week, boys?" Tina asked her sons after a while. Oliver replied immediately._

"_Just spending time at the hotel. I can't wait until we get back home."_

"_Don't worry dear, just a few more days." The woman smiled. "How about you?" This question was directed to Terence._

"_I-I've been at the hotel room, reading my books and doing the summer homework." The boy answered quietly._

"_Good, you haven't bothered the personnel here, have you?"_

"_N-No… I've only left the room when the cleaners have come but otherwise I've stayed there." He was scared. One wrong word. One little hint to father that he had been sneaking out and he'd be dead. Maybe not in the basic definition of the word but close to it. So far everything had been fine. Besides father shouldn't have any reason to suspect him. Right?_

* * *

_After a time that felt like eternity, the family rose up from their seats. They walked along the corridors towards the two rooms they were living in. Terence kept a healthy distance to others and allowed himself to breathe. He wanted out of there…_

_A small hand went into a jeans pocket and took out a photo. Terence had taken it on the previous day, right after the rain, about Spencer and his mother. The two Reids were standing on the small porch and the sun shone brightly and the photo look really happy. Only Spencer had a small frown on his face despite the smile but Terence assumed it was because of the sunlight._

_Terence turned the photo around and found pen markings behind it. Spencer had written them. The date, their names, the address and the phone number. 'Call, if it becomes too much for you.' He had said. What becomes? He couldn't know. Could he? If he did, how? Was he reading signs in the same way than Terence did? Had Terence said too much?_

* * *

The 28th of May 2005, Saturday  
08:11 AM

Terry looked around in the hospital room. He had been forced to stay there over the night. He indeed didn't have any bones broken and no other injuries in his vitals but he has to stay there a couple of more days.

"As if I'd stay here." The man grumbled and took the needle out of his arm. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Thank God he hadn't been sedated. Terry swung his legs out of the bed. They couldn't even touch the floor.

About that time the door opened. Terry looked up to see Spencer Reed standing in the door way, pondering should he come in. He didn't say anything to either direction. Finally after an awkward silence the young doctor finally spoke.

"Why you used the name Matthew Thompson instead of your own?"

Terry watched him silently before answering. He wasn't sure how he should answer to that question. The real answer was clear in his mind but he didn't want to tell it. Not yet. Fortunate for him he had another answer too, which was as truthful but less revealing.

"I… I was scared. I was scared that you'd try to find me and you'd get hurt."

"Why would I get hurt by trying to find you?"

"Because of who you are and the fact that I went to find you."

"I don't understand."

"You don't need to. Not yet. I'm not ready to tell." Terry stood up and walked to a paper bag placed on a corner. He peeked inside. "Gotta love Audrey…"

"Are you leaving?"

"Yeah. I have no reason to stay here." Terry straightened to his full height. He was only a few centimeters shorter than Reid. "I'm perfectly fine, Doctor. As you probably already know, I've been gone through worse and that happened in a house I should have been able to call home."

'Doctor'… That hurt. Why Terry didn't call Reid by his name? I didn't matter was it his first or last name but 'Doctor'? What had happened?

"You doubted my existence, didn't you? I heard you asked Oliver about that name."

"I… forgot you and remembered you for the first time on the night before we left here for this case. I'm sorry."

"No need. It's understandable."

Reid blinked. Was Terry forgiving him just like that? He had… for heaven's sake! He had forgotten the boy he considered a mixture of a little brother and a best friend. Terry didn't pay attention on him at the moment though. He was rummaging the paper bag and trying to find his wallet. He found it and took a neatly folded piece of paper inside of it.

"Here, I should've given this to you a long time ago. I gotta change now. When you go back to the police station tell Oliver to call me when they have the idiots caught."

"Idiots? That clashes pretty badly with what you told me on the sixteenth of July 1994." Reid accepted the paper, without looking at it. Whatever it was, he knew he wouldn't throw it away.

"I know. But in this case… I use that word in the meaning 'stupid'." Terry smirked. Reid smiled slightly. Maybe the things weren't as bad they looked at the first glance.

* * *

12:34 PM

Oliver glanced at his watch. It was the time to act. The robbers were now inside and realized by now that Terry and the janitor were gone now. The all four of the group were there. One of them was a woman.

There were shouts and angry screams. Oliver gave a signal to his team to get in. Everything was over in five minutes. He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and scrolled down the numbers until he got Terry's. He had been angry but not a bit surprised when he had found out that Terry had left the hospital. Anyways he was going to make the call Terry and requested.

"_Hello?" _Came the answer. It was Terry habit. He never said his own name, only that simple word.

"Terry, we got these guys." Oliver put the call to a speaker. He was too tired to hold it on his ear.

"_Great, I suppose exaggerating was on its place this time." _The detective grimaced. Why Terry had to pull up the most embarrassing situation on the wrong moments?

"Yes. Where are you? And why did you leave the hospital? You are not in the condition to go on your own yet."

"_I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much. And about my location and the purpose of leaving hospital… I'm at your place and I needed to take care of one thing."_ Oliver sighed. Why wouldn't Terry call 'his place' home? He had been living there for four years now.

"Okay, don't do anything stupid, alright?" The FBI agents were listening to the phone call curiously. Most likely profiling Terry behavior after being a hostage.

"_Like what? I'm not stupid. I know perfectly well what I'm doing." _Terry snapped.

"Right. I have to go now."

"_Wait! I… Good work. Great thing that those bastards are caught now."_

"Yeah. Bye, Terry." A small frown appeared on the detective's face. Something was wrong. Terry rarely complimented anyone, especially not him.

"_Goodbye, Ollie."_ The call ended. Oliver stared at the phone in shock.

"Hey, you okay?" Morgan asked him.

"Terry… has never called me 'Ollie'. Not even once." Oliver said slowly. Reid's eyes widened. He took the paper he had gotten from Terry and opened it. It was a drawing about him playing chess. The very first drawing he had ever seen Matt-… Terry draw. Why hadn't he seen it sooner?

"_I'm not ready to tell."_

"_I have no reason to stay here."_

"_Here, I should've given this to you a long time ago."_

"_I know perfectly well what I'm doing."_

"_Goodbye, Ollie."_

The others seemed to understand it too.

"Go to your brother. Morgan and Reid will come with you. We'll take care of the things here." Hotch told the detective who nodded and run to one of the SUV's. Morgan sat behind the wheel and they left like there had been an explosive with them in the car. In a way there was an explosive, or at least a countdown going on. And it wasn't in their car.

"Has... this happened before?" Reid asked hesitantly.

"No." Oliver said shortly. "But for a long time it has been only a matter of a time when this would happen."

* * *

12:59 PM

Morgan stopped the car and they hurried towards the door. Audrey stood between the door and the kitchen window. She was clutching a white teddy bear that wore a green scarf around its neck and her cheeks were tearstained. To the unspoken question she said: "Terry told me to come and take this with me but not to go inside before you come."

"When did he call you?" Oliver asked an edge of panic in his voice while he fumbled his keys.

"1215."

"Before me…" The door was open now and the detective rushed in, Morgan and Reid not far behind.

"Is that sound running water?" Reid asked. At that question Oliver strode the stair up and to the bathroom door which was in the opposite end of the corridor than Terry's room. That door was locked. But with Morgan's help they got it open.

"Call an ambulance!" The dark-skinned agent told to the detective who was frozen by the sight that had been waiting for them. Terry was leaning against the bathtub which was filled by hot water. Some of the water had flooded on the floor too and made it slippery. The young man's left arm was in the tub and coloring the water red while the right one held loosely a surgery knife. He had lost his consciousness a while ago. Morgan fished Terry's arm out of the water and held his wrist above the level of the man's heart, putting the pressure on the wound. The wrist had multiple cuts neatly next to each other but it wasn't what got the agent's attention. It was the short white scars along Terry's arms. Both arms.

"Reid, take him away from here." Morgan nodded towards Oliver who was talking to the phone and shaking visibly. The younger agent nodded and led him gently but firmly away from the bathroom. He had also been quite shaken by the sight. He saw Audrey standing by the door of Terry's room, still clutching the teddy bear. Reid noticed for the first time now that she was wearing just jeans and a black hoodie with cat ears. Something less… dramatic.

"How are you?" He asked nicely.

"I'm fine. How about Terry?" She directed the question more to Oliver than to Reid but got the answer from the Doctor.

"Morgan is with him at the moment and the paramedics are on their way. I-I'm sure he'll be alright."

"I hope so…"

* * *

02:27 PM

The last hour had been a blur to Oliver and he suddenly realized being at hospital, watching Terry through the glass. Reid was standing next to him.

"He lost pretty much blood so the doctors are keeping him sedated 'til tomorrow." The agent stated.

"Yeah…" Was the reply. The detective just stared his brother's tiny and… so vulnerable form in the large hospital bed. How many times he had failed him during the years? Tens? Hundreds? Thousands? Ten thousands? No matter how many times it was, even once was too much.

The silence lasted for a several minutes. Oliver spoke then again. Very quietly, almost like Reid hadn't been there but in reality the man wanted to tell the Doctor about one occasion in his life. One he would never forget.

"I remember the previous time when I was watching him like this. I was seventeen and Terry was only ten. He had gone to talk father about something in his study. I don't know what it was and that time I didn't care. I was just listening music in my room. Suddenly I heard raised voices and dropped the head phones on my ears. The door of the study slammed open and father dragged Terry out. He stopped at the top of the stairs and held him at the collar of his shirt so Terry was tilted towards the stairs. Father was downright furious to him. And that… that monster told him: 'I've tolerated you for ten years but I'm not going to tolerate any more of your behavior. They are not part of this family. And you are not going to tell anyone.'

"And Terry just stared him calmly before turning his eyes on me. I still can't forget how hurt and how full of blame those eyes were. Asking why I never stood up for him. Why I let everything happen? And every time after that day whenever he looked at me I saw _those_ eyes." Oliver drew and shuddering breath before continuing. "He turned back to look at that bastard and said: 'No, I'm not.' before taking a compasses from his pocket and stabbing the hand that held him from the fall."

Oliver stopped again. Angry tears were flowing down his cheeks.

"You don't need to continue." Reid said quietly but Oliver continued like he hadn't heard that. He kept his eyes fixed on Terry and opened his mouth again.

"Terry rolled the stairs down and I ran to the top of them to see if he was alright. Father was cursing his hand. Mother ran from the kitchen and tried to move Terry. Pushed her aside and told her not to touch him. She backed up and went to call an ambulance. When she came back she was whispering to herself what would the neighbors say.

"We got to the hospital and Terry was taken to surgery. His right arm was broken and many other injuries were found. Any of them combined with the fall could have cost Terry's life. When he was in a similar room to this one Mother sat by him and was smoothing his hair. And do you know what that bitch said to her unconscious son? 'Oh, Terry, why couldn't you have been normal like Oliver?'

"On the next day Terry woke up. The first thing he did was to forbid every single one of our family from visiting him, even me. The only ones he allowed to come were Audrey and the Masons. And when he was finally released he had changed totally. I was jumpy and avoiding everyone at all costs. Two years later his condition was diagnosed. Partially. But those eyes…" Oliver stopped his tale and looked Reid straight in the eyes. "It took six more years until I managed to get Father arrested. Two more years and that poor excuse of a man killed himself a day before he was released from prison."

"No one should go through that. Absolutely no one." Reid said. He felt sorry for Terry and understood a bit now why he had acted like he had. Oliver's phone rang.

"Hello? Oliver speaking… Whoa, Audrey, calm down… Yes, he's alive… What? Why? ... Alright we are coming."

"What now?"

"Something has come up and Audrey wants us both to the station."

* * *

An hour earlier

Audrey waited until the paramedics had taken Terry and the three men had left. She opened silently the door of Terry's room and smiled slightly. It was the same than during her previous visit. The wall above his bed was covered with drawings about people and places. On the bed were the colorful pillows the girl had given to her brother. In the middle of the floor was this time a chess board with an unfinished game. No, it was finished and the white pieces had made a checkmate.

She sat on the bed and looked around. Where could it be? Where was Terry's safe?

"Ah…" Audrey kneeled on the floor next to the chess board and opened one of the cabinets of the bookshelf. It wasn't fully just the open shelves, the bottom part of it had four cabinets and in one of them… Tadaa! There is was. And on the door was taped a photo about the white teddy bear Audrey had brought with her. She really valued that teddy bear she had gotten from Terry. It even had a name, Blanco. But in this photo something was wrong. Blanco didn't have its scarf.

"Scarf…" Audrey unwrapped the silk fabric and opened it from the loose roll it had been so it was easier to wrap around the bear's neck. A sheet of tissue paper fell from it. The girl picked it up and saw four numbers written on it. "This is the date Adam was arrested." She thought aloud. She never called her biological parents 'mother' or 'father'. To her they were Tina and Adam.

Audrey chose the numbers from the dial for the digital screen and turned the handle. The safe opened silently and she found… only one rather large manila file. She picked it up. It was without any label so she opened the file. Inside of the file were Terry's diary and another file.

"Funny, I never thought Terry a diary person." She mused amusedly before turning her attention on the smaller file. Her jaw dropped open as she read the label in _that_ file. Audrey opened and read the first page in the file. She was shocked. Absolutely gob smacked. With a snap she shut the file and got up to leave the room in hurry. In the stairs she took her phone and dialed Oliver's number.

"_Hello? Oliver speaking…"_

"Ollie, you need to come to the station. This is important. It's about Terry and… This just is important and…" The girl started to explain fast but couldn't quite phrase her message so she wouldn't reveal anything yet.

"_Whoa, Audrey, calm down."_

"How's Terry by the way? He looked pretty bad when you left but he's okay, right? I must be bad sister since I didn't come but I had to stay here and…"

"Yes, he's alive."

"Good to hear but back to the business now. You need to come to the station and take the FBI agent's with you. Especially Doc…" Audrey trailed off and shut the front door behind her.

"_What? Why?"_

"This… Kind of concerns him too… I can't explain now. Just come!"

"_Alright we are coming."_

Audrey hung up and crossed the street. The Masons lived there, just opposite Oliver's house. So she could take her bicycle to get fast to the police station. Placing the file and Blanco on the front basket she took the last glance on the file, recalling the label on the smaller file.

_'The Reids – the most messed up family ever'_

* * *

**A/N: Whew! This was a hard chapter to write. This one has a cliffhanger! Yay! What is Terry hiding? What does he mean with that file label? Find out in the next chapter.**

**And plz review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hiya, here is the second last chapter. I have no idea when I'll write the last one so forgive me. Please.**

**This chapter is quite dark and explains a lot about Terry past. The part from the first person's POV are diary extracts. Please, review after reading.**

* * *

_Las Vegas, Nevada  
The 18__th__ of July 1994, Monday_

_He was there again. Sitting on the grass and reading a book. Waiting for him. Terence gulped. He had been mostly lying during the previous week. Lying to Spencer. He couldn't tell the truth either. Spencer could get hurt. And he didn't want Spencer get hurt. Terence himself had become hurt yesterday for no particular reason. In the eyes of his father he was abnormal, a freak. And on his father's scale, Spencer would be a freak too._

_So there he stood, across the street, exactly on the same place than on the week previously, when he had met Spencer for the first time. Terence had had a reason to find him. A reason he wouldn't tell anyone. At least not yet. Not today._

"_How long time have you stood here?" Suddenly Spencer was right in front of him. Terence jumped and took several steps backward until he sat down on the same bench he had occupied on that Tuesday._

"_I'm sorry. I managed to scare you again." Spencer scratched the back of his head embarrassedly and sat next to the boy._

"_It's alright. I shouldn't be so..." But Terence couldn't come up with any fitting word so he just looked down and started to knit the hem of his shirt once again. An angry blush appeared on his cheeks. Why he had to be such a wimp? Such a weak loser._

"_Don't call yourself a loser."_

"_Ah, I didn't…" Terence looked up. Had he thought aloud?_

"_Yes, you did. I heard it very clearly. It doesn't matter what the others call you as long as you don't start looking down yourself." The older boy said sternly before turning away. "It's not easy. I know it very well. With all those people around and taunting you, one starts to think if something is wrong in oneself. But we all should value what we are because we can't change it… Some things we get from the environment we live in, some things from the genetics and some… are given us by chance."_

"_Spencie… I need to tell you something…" Terence looked down again. He had to do it. He really had to but he wasn't brave enough nor knew how to phrase it. He could feel the other boy watching him and waiting. Silently but not pressuring him at all._

"_I…" In the mid-though he changed what he was going to tell. It was quite important too though. "I'm leaving tomorrow. We won't see anymore."_

_Spencer just watched him and nodded. He saw from the boy's eyes that that announcement wasn't the thing he had been going to say but didn't blame him at all. Whatever it was, it wasn't an easy matter to anyone. Especially not the only person who knew about it. The person who'd take his own life for not being able to tell anyone face to face about it._

* * *

The 28th of May 2005, Saturday  
03:15 PM

The BAU had gathered in the conference room with Oliver, Audrey and Martha. Everyone was staring the file and the diary Audrey had found and. A while ago they had listened they girl telling how she had found them. The most shocked was Reid. He couldn't understand why Terry would label any file like that and what an earth would the file have inside. They had been friends after all.

"Terry didn't mean only your family, Doctor." Audrey said softly, breaking the trance-like silence. She reached for the file and took one sheet of paper in it.

'_The twenty-eighth of May two-o-o-five._

_If you are reading this, it means Audrey has found these two from my safe and I'm either dead or at hospital, unconscious. I hope it's the former because I don't know how to face any of you after you have found out the truth I have been hiding for twelve years now._

_At this point I'd like to ask you not to judge me only by reading the label of this file and then, angered on me, chucking these both items to the nearest trash. No, if you do so you are very narrow-sighted and have misunderstood. So I beg you. Read my diary. You'll understand then everything. At least I hope you do. Idiots always exist._

_You might be skeptical now. What have I been hiding during whole twelve years? Why have I taken my life now? Why I didn't tell this face to face? The answer is simple. I'm a coward. I was scared how you'd react. And when I was younger I was scared that someone would get hurt by my father because of what I had found out. Yes, I found out something my parents had done. They had isolated our whole family from theirs without any reason. They did it with a simple trick anyone can do, legally even. They did it legally and disappeared from the sight of their families._

_So, what did they do then? Changed their surname. Only father's actually since mother had taken it when they'd married. And the change was anything too dramatic, only one letter changed. R-E-I-D became R-E-E-D._

_I found out about this when I was eight and started to keep diary about my findings and other life. Now is your turn to read it. Everything I mention is stored inside this file._

_Terence Matthew Reed'_

Audrey stopped reading. The silence was thick, much thicker than before reading the letter. Reid had frozen. Questions were swirling in his mind but one of them dominated the others: Could they be related then?

"Why didn't he tell me?" Oliver asked quietly. He got no answer. Martha leaned closer to whisper gently to his ear and helped him sit down.

"I suppose we all should sit down. Anything Terry has written down must be something that will give us a lot to think." She said and the group obeyed silently. Hotch gave a look to Garcia who nodded and started to type on her computer.

"I found it. The official document that Adam and Tina Reed changed their last name. This is dated… the fifteenth of October 1976." The tech said. Everyone nodded. Rossi offered to read the diary with black worn out leather covers.

* * *

The year one-nine-nine-three. August. My name is Terry and I'm eight years old. I have finally found out why I don't seem to have any other family than mother, father, Oliver and Audrey. That's why I've started to write this diary. My parents have changed our surname. I don't know why but I know it happened before Oliver was born but after their weddings. We have never been allowed to take a look on the wedding pictures and I've always found it weird. So today I sneaked into my father's study and picked the lock of one of his drawers. I knew that was the one where he kept the photo album. I had seen him once looking at the photos with an angry face before locking them in. Today my parents are out and Oliver is at his friend's place. Audrey is sleeping. It's about three more weeks until she'll move to Masons. But now back to what I did. I sneaked into the study and picked the lock. I found the photo album and started to go through the photos. I looked all the happy faces of my parents' family members and friends and started to ask why we had never met them after that. I know I will never get an answer to that question and I'll never ask them. My eyes caught one picture particularly. It was about father and another man who resembled him a lot. Under the picture was a text: 'Husband and his brother William.' I managed to find another picture about that man. This time he had a woman with him. The text under it was: 'William with his fiancée Diana.' After that I couldn't continue anymore. I had family. Even from my father's side and most likely they didn't know anything about us just like we weren't supposed to know anything about them. I made me feel sick and also made me want to know more. So I went through the drawer and found an official paper about a name change. I was angry now. I put everything to their respective places and locked the drawer. I went back to my own room and started to write down what I had found. I have made a decision. No matter what, I'm going to find out more.

"So… we are cousins?" Reid looked at Audrey and Oliver. The detective had a stony face and he didn't say or do anything. Audrey in the other hand got up from her seat and sat next to the Doctor, taking firmly his hand.

"Please continue." The girl said quietly to Rossi.

* * *

The year one-nine-nine-four. January. It took a lot of work but I managed to find out more about father's brother's family. Apparently they have a son, Spencer, who is two years younger than Oliver, which means he's five years older than I. They live in Las Vegas but that's all I know.

The year one-nine-nine-four. July. We are in Vegas now. I can't believe how lucky I am. Father and mother have some businesses to attend so Oliver and I have been told to stay at the hotel. I'm not going to do it. I'm going to find Spencer. I want to see him at least once.  
It didn't go as I had planned. I was only going to take one photo and leave but I managed to fall down and make him notice me. I panicked and lied about my name. I became Matthew Thompson to him. He's really nice though and now, when I'm writing this I'm almost crying. That's because I'm so happy. I'm happy that there is even one person I can trust. That I have also other family than the one I've known for too long time. But I can't tell him. I absolutely not can tell him. What if he'd try to help me and end up hurt just like I do in everyday basis?  
There was a murder at the hotel today. The cops couldn't solve it. I did though. I couldn't go to meet Spencer today but tomorrow I will.  
It was quite rainy day today. I met... Aunt Diana for the first time now. She is very nice woman. And even though the roles of who is taking care of whom have been turned upside down, Spencer is really lucky to have a mother who loves him.  
Today we are leaving. I have already packed my stuff and I'm going to go to say goodbye to Spencer. We are not going to meet again but I'm happy I was able to meet him at all.

Reid clenched his fists when he heard the melancholic attitude in the diary. How any nine-year-old could write like that? And he only had known… Audrey next to him had troubles to keep her tears away. JJ placed her own hand on the young doctor free hand. Garcia left her computer and sat next to Audrey before nodding to Rossi.

* * *

The year one-nine-nine-five. June. It has been almost a year since I met Spencer. He really miss him. But while I'm missing him I have also gathered my courage to ask father why he had kept us from his family. I'm not going to mention meeting Spencer though. And today I'm going to go and ask him. Wish me luck.  
It didn't go well at all. Although I didn't expect it to… Anyways father seemed to be angrier about what I found than the fact I had broken into his study. At the moment I'm in the hospital. It has been a day since I made my question and ended up falling down the stairs. It wasn't my purpose originally but I made him let go but stabbing the hand that was clutching the collar of my shirt. I've forbid all of them from meeting me. Audrey and the Masons are the only ones I allow to come. My right arm is broken but luckily I can write also with my left hand.

* * *

The year one-nine-nine-seven. May. Oliver has graduated. He is going to become a cop. We a bit closer now and he makes sure I don't need to be alone with father. I haven't said a thing about anything to him but I can see he feels guilty. We spend more time together. I've also started to help neighbors to earn money.  
Spencer got the Doctor's degree on Mathematics and he's only seventeen now. I wish I could call and congratulate him.

* * *

The year one-nine-nine-eight. November. I got taken to see a doctor. Something is wrong with me. I've noticed it myself. I suppose it started a bit after the fall three years ago. Anyways I have to eat medicines now. They help me when I get too… upset. Father is not abusing me anymore. Not so much at least but sometimes I feel like I'd get hurt again.  
There is a lock in the door of my room. It wasn't before there. Actually it appeared today while I was at school and when I went to do my homework someone locked it. At first I panicked but calmed down then. Father is scared. He thinks I'm going crazy and going to kill him so he keeps me behind the locked doors. But I can get out of here if I want to. And I'm let out for school and for dinner.

* * *

The year one-nine-nine-nine. January. I've ran out of my medicines and the door is locked. I can't think clearly. I can barely even write. Oliver is not home yet. I need help. There is that one photo in front of me and Spencer's number written behind it. I want to call but I don't have a phone for that. I'm almost fourteen and I'm crying like a baby.  
I must have lost my control at some point. I remember anymore only Oliver opening my door and the room in a mess but I don't remember making the mess. Oliver made me promise to inform him in time if I'm about to run out of the medicines.

The year one-nine-nine-nine. March. I have now the key to the door and Oliver is watching after me while mother ignores me. Father in the other hand… he spends his time at work. I'm speeding up in my studies and working much faster than anyone else could be able to. My parents don't know about it. So everything should be fine.

The year one-nine-nine-nine. October. Scissors, razor, a carpet knife, a pocket knife, a surgery knife. What's in common with all of them? They all are sharp. Yes, I've started to cut myself. I'm proud about it but I can't help it anymore. At least I'm not using drugs, like some other kids in my school. They got expelled immediately and all the students were checked out. Believe or not, I got through it. After all I have no needle marks on my elbows of behind knees or between toes. I have only unhealed scars on my forearms. When I got questioned about my bandages I told I broke a jug and they believed it. How naïve can they be?

* * *

The year two-o-o-one. August. I'm sixteen years, five months and thirteen days old now. Father was arrested four months ago, for child abuse. The judge was biased: the bastard got only two years in prison. I'm living at Oliver's place now which is right opposite the Masons. Mother has disappeared so we sold the house. I don't want to go anywhere near that place anymore.  
I have started to help at the police station. Oliver is going to work there in a year after all. At the moment it's just cleaning archive cabinets and clearing tables from coffee cups. Sometimes I give ideas for them about how they should go forward in their cases. Sometimes I'm actually helpful. I suppose it's because I've read so much.  
I have taken up a habit of drinking coffee. It has a lot of sugar so it wouldn't be so bitter. It keeps me awake through the nights and the nightmares away when I truly have to sleep.  
I found out that Spencer is an FBI agent now and he has many Ph.D.'s and Bachelor degrees. And I absorb any information I can get about him. Now I'm trying to do all I can to reach his level. When I was younger I was always compared to Oliver but now I'm comparing myself to Spencer. I even went to take a new IQ test. The previous one is from when I was six after all. The new result is 178.  
I know. I'm obsessed. And obsessions are bad.

* * *

The year two-o-o-three. April. The last two months I have been anxious about this day. Actually the last two years I have been anxious about this day. Because today father was supposed to be released. My fear was for absolutely nothing. Because of that fear I started to have the nightmares. Father hung himself last night. We are not going to keep him funerals. I'm not going to go anywhere near him, Oliver is furious to him and Audrey hasn't thought him as her father for ten years. And mother… she is who knows where. Remarried, that's all we know.

The year two-o-o-three. May. I'm drowning myself in work. In school work (I've started to study at AIA) and police work. On purpose. I've decreased my medication and it allows me to think much clearer. The police trust me more after two years of helping them and when they get really tricky case I'm actually asked to come and help. It's interesting and nice. I don't need to try to blend in anymore. But the reason why I'm doing this is that ever since father killed himself, I've been near to tell Oliver what I found almost ten years ago. But I don't know how to tell it. I'm scared how he'd react. He'd ask for sure why I haven't told earlier. So I'm a coward and shut my mouth. I forget everything. Or at least try to.

The year two-o-o-three. September. Classic case at work. A boy was living with his mother and abusive father. Father killed the mother. Abusing continued. When the boy grew up he started to kill men like his father and finally the father himself. We got on the trail but too late. The boy killed himself right after the last murder. He was eight years older than I. You won't believe how many times I have thought that I'm much like that classic case. Sometimes I've been scared that I turn out to be a classic case. I remember joking about it once. That was nine years, two months and eleven days ago. When I spent time with Spencer. I'm kind of happy I didn't turn out to be one of those classic cases. It would be horrible.

* * *

The year two-o-o-four. March. A dream I never voiced to anyone came true on my nineteenth birthday. I have a motorbike now. It's a joint gift from Oliver, Audrey, Masons and the people from station. I'm happy. The words are not enough to express myself. I have even managed to cut down the cutting along the years. What a pun…

The year two-o-o-four. July. I gathered my courage and travelled to Las Vegas. I wasn't going to meet Spencer. He is most likely busy with all the cases he has. No, I was going to meet Aunt Diana. I arrived to the house they used to live and started to poke around. I could see on a one glance that they weren't living there anymore. From neighbors I found out where Diana is at the moment. They even remembered me after the years. I never thought they had paid any attention on me.  
It went better than I expected. Diana was very wary around me bet seemed to recognize me. I fully understand her behavior. I wonder is she going to tell Spencer about my visit. I didn't tell her the truth either but I was relieved I was able to talk with someone at all.  
I'm back to Atlanta now. Oliver is asking why I went to Vegas. I don't tell.

* * *

The year two-o-o-five. May. Something is going on. The winners of AIA's designing competition are getting kidnapped one by one. There is a pattern and I have a fair guess about the mastermind. I have to wait and gather more information first though. Oliver wants to call the BAU here. I asked him to wait a bit.  
The BAU is here now. Spencer was with them. Something was bothering him. The robbers are going to strike at Caffeine Forest today and I know I'll be the target. Well, I'll let them get what they want.  
I left the hospital a while ago. I have a surgery knife with me. No one even notice me to borrow it. I'm ready now. I'm going to leave everyone. One of the reasons is that I can't keep on going anymore. The other one is that Spencer knows I'm Matthew Thompson. It's only a matter of time when he'd start look for information about me and find everything. It's easier to give the answer straight away but I can't do it face to face. I'm not strong enough.

So this is the good bye. I hope you'll forgive me. I hope you don't feel guilty. This was my own choice. The all of you, I asked Audrey to gather into this very room, are people I can trust with this information. You decide what to do with it.

Terence Matthew Reid.

* * *

Rossi closed the diary and placed it on the table. No one said anything. Audrey was crying silently. Oliver was hugged by Martha and silent tears were running down his cheeks too. Reid was gripping JJ's hand painfully hard but the woman didn't say anything. Hotch was shocked but held his blank face, only just though. Prentiss sniffed and shifted on her chair uncomfortably. Hearing the deepest thoughts of that smart young man – heck, he was more like a boy – wasn't pleasant to anyone. Morgan opened his mouth finally.

"No one should go through that. Absolutely no one."

* * *

**A/N: Here, you are welcome. See you again at some point!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hello everyone! Finally the last chapter. Sorry it took so long and it's kinda short.**

**I want to thank you all anyways for reading this and supporting me. Thank you very, very much.**

* * *

_Las Vegas, Nevada  
The 19__th__ of July 1994, Tuesday_

"_So you are leaving today?" Spencer stated._

"_Yeah, in a couple of hours. I better get going now." Terry stood up from the grass where they had once again sat on._

"_But we'll see again though. Right?" Spencer got up too. "And you have our phone number, so you can call whenever you want to. Whenever you need someone to talk to."_

"_Yeah, alright…" Terry fished the polaroid photo from his jeans pocket and looked at it for a second even though he knew he most likely wouldn't call. And that he would never see Spencer again._

"_Thanks. I really need to go now…" He did his best to hold back his tears. "I… I'm going to miss you."_

"_Same here but hopefully we'll meet again." Spencer smiled, getting up. He pretended he didn't see silent tears running down Terry's cheeks._

"_Yeah…" Was the only answer he got from the younger boy before he sprinted down the street._

"_Bye, Matt…"_

* * *

The 29th of May 2005, Sunday  
07:38 AM

Terry opened his eyes slowly. A stable beeping sound filled his ears before the room around him came into focus. He was in a hospital again. His wrist was aching and he could feel a bandage around it. The painkillers were probably wearing off. Turning his head on the left, he saw Spencer and Audrey sitting on the chairs, sleeping. Spencer leaned against the wall behind him while Audrey slept her head on Spencer's lap.

"So I'm alive after all… I shouldn't have underestimated Oliver…" Terry mused while watching the scene in front of him amusedly. If he only had a camera now…

"So, back in the books of living?" Someone asked from the door. Terry turned his head to see Martha standing there, a coffee mug in her hands.

"I suppose so." Terry shrugged.

"They were really worried about you. Everyone was. Don't do anything like that again, Terry. Promise me."

"I… I promise…" His eyes were casted down. Yes, he wouldn't do it again. Slicing his wrists open. But what would he do now then? Everyone knew his innermost thoughts and what he had gone through. How he could face them ever again?

"Oh, how they look cute! I gotta take a picture for Oliver. I mean Detective Reed…" Martha cooed and took her cell phone.

"When are you two going to get married?"

"What!?" The female officer almost dropped her phone. "I-I'm not… We are not…"

"You two are pretty obvious, you know."

"Any normal person doesn't go around and drop bombs like that!"

"Good thing I've never been normal then." Terry laughed humorlessly.

"Oh, don't start that again…" Martha muttered while snapping pictures about Spencer and Audrey. "Hmm… which one of these I should send to Oliver… And you young man, you need more rest."

"Yes, ma'am!" Terry mock-saluted her carefully before she danced out of the room. A moment later a nurse came in and unceremoniously gave him more painkillers. In no time Terry was drifting off again.

* * *

10:33 AM

When Terry woke up for the second time, Spencer was still there but Audrey was gone.

"I'm supposed to scold and be angry to you right now but I'm too tired to do so." The older of the cousins said when he saw the younger awake.

"I won't do it again."

"I hope that also includes other kind of suicide attempts too, not just opening your wrists."

"Observant aren't you. Did you listen to my conversation with Martha then?" Terry frowned.

"I sleep quite lightly." Spencer shrugged and decided to change topic then. "We are leaving today. The questionings are over now and your brother with his colleagues can handle the rest."

"When are you leaving?"

"Sometime after midday. Why?"

"Nothing special."

This time it was Spencer's turn to frown. "You are not going to sneak out, are you?"

"Well… Maybe. I'd like to meet the rest of your team before you are off. Although I might be cleared today anyways." Terry turned to look at the ceiling. "How has your life been this far? You already know about mine."

"Cases… A lot of cases. Some remain unsolved but in many… very many… we get the UnSub caught. Like with this one. And you helped us a lot. I don't know how long time it would have taken if you hadn't given us the right direction.

"Another eight weeks?" Terry smirked. "Although…"

"Although what?"

"The case was practically closed even before you guys came. If only Oliver had listened to me…"

"Then we would have never met again."

"Good point." They looked at each other and smiled slightly. Despite everything that had happened, they both were happy how it had turned out.

"By the way. I asked you about your life, not about your work." Terry smirked.

* * *

During the day Terry had a lot of visitors. Audrey stayed for a long time while Oliver only stopped by. The Masons visited also, like some officers from the police station. They all were relieved that he was alright but didn't say a word about the circumstances that had gotten him into hospital bed. It was just good. At the moment he didn't need any pity or sad looks. Besides they even didn't know the background of his situation, the BAU and others had taken care of that. And he would take Oliver's scolding later. If ever…

* * *

1:25 PM

The BAU was on their way from the SUVs to their plane that was ready to go back to Virginia. The mood was surprisingly high despite everything. But after all the case had ended well. Now they all were just tired. Relieved and tired.

There was someone standing right next to the stairs leading to the plane. They recognized him immediately.

"Hospital cleared you, huh?" Morgan asked Terry. The young man grinned.

"Yup, after keeping me sedated god knows how long time, they finally decided to let me go. And I told them I would leave anyways sooner or later."

"Good to see you alright." JJ smiled to him and gave him a brief hug. At first Terry stiffened for a second but relaxed soon and returned the hug. She wasn't going to harm him. No one was.

"I guess I'm also glad that I'm here instead of… well, you know." _The coroner's table…_

"Yes. Thank you for your help." Hotch shook hands with him. The agent was very business-like and almost reminded Terry about his own father but there was also something softer that pushed uneasy feeling aside. There was even a hint of smile on his stern face.

"You are welcome."

"Don't do anything stupid."

"I won't." Terry almost chuckled when he realized what lied underneath Hotch's mask. _"He is a father too. Very unlike than my own. He is a caring one. A good one."_

The agents started to climb the stairs up. Terry said good bye to all of them. He fist bumped with Morgan, shook hands with Prentiss, got in a bearhug by Garcia. Rossi just patted him on the shoulder. Spencer was the last one.

"What now then?" Terry stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"We keep contact. This time for real."

"Ah." Terry remembered the last day of he had met Spencer years ago. It seemed that Spencer did too. "Yes, this time I'll call. For real."

"Do you have any plans for your future now?"

"Nothing special. I'm going to go this year in AIA 'til the end since there's only a couple of days left. But then I'll drop out and travel a bit. Places to see, people to meet. And then I'll find a new studying place from somewhere else. A fresh start."

"Good luck for that then." Spencer smiled.

"Thanks. You have a good team, a good family around you. I hope I'll find something like that around me too. People to trust."

"I'm sure you will."

Spencer started to climb up the stairs. Terry watched after him for a moment before asking: "About agent Hotchner… What is the name of his son?"

"How did you…?"

"It's brief and under a mask but he obviously is more or less used to look after children. Son was just a good guess."

"Oh, his name is Jack."

"Jack… Good name. See ya!" Terry waved and walked to his motorcycle he had parked nearby.

* * *

Las Vegas, Nevada  
The 19th of July 2005, Tuesday

"This way mister. Mrs. Reid should be in her room at the moment." A nurse in their usual white attire told a young visitor.

"Thank you, I think I know my way though. I've been here once before." The visitor replied.

"If you are sure." The nurse left him alone on the corridor. The young man walked to the room he had stepped in only once and knocked on the door carefully. There was a quiet reply and he opened the door. A blond-haired woman sat at a small table, reading a thick book. She looked up and smiled at the visitor.

"Hello, Terence."

"Hi, Aunt Diana." Terry smiled back and closed the door behind. "Did Spencer tell you about me?"

"Yes, he wrote me after meeting you two months ago. I suspected it was something like that. After you came here as Matthew Thompson. There was something that told me you were more than just a friend of Spencer's."

"I guess I should have told you back then." Terry took a seat at the other side of the table. "How are you?"

* * *

**A/N: Here it was. I hope you liked this one too. Plz review. Plz plz plz plzzzzz.**

**I'm kinda proud about myself. This is the first fic I've finished. :D**


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